Adrenaline Rush
by MW Allen
Summary: It's been years since Vocal Adrenaline last won Nationals, and with every loss, there is a consequence. Jesse St. James is now burdened with the task of regaining the Nationals title from New Directions and restoring Vocal Adrenaline to its former glory, or the arts will be eliminated from Carmel High School forever. Submit your own character!
1. Introduction and Submission Form

It's been years since Vocal Adrenaline last won Nationals, and with every loss, there is a consequence. Luckily, Carmel High School's principal is giving the rookie director one more chance to gain the Nationals title back from New Directions.

However, the challenges are further amplified when Jesse realizes that most of last year's Glee club was composed of seniors, and the few who weren't transferred to McKinley – "to be on the winning side," as they had stated. An entirely new Glee club must be created, and Jesse realizes that if he is to be successful, he might have to change his rather harsh policies.

Submit your own character! The character submission form is below. Please note that all of the categories are optional, and if you don't want to fill certain things out about the character, I can fill in any missing information, as long as it's okay with you.

**Full name:**

**Nicknames:**

**Gender:**

**Age: (at the beginning of the school year)**

**Birthday:**

**Grade: (freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior)**

**Appearance:**

**Personality:**

**Sexual Orientation:**

**Strengths: (Singing, dancing, rapping, playing an instrument, academics, athletics, etc…)**

**Weaknesses:**

**Background: (Family life? Any secrets? Etc...)**

***Audition song: **

**Other clubs/sports:**

**Any other information you want me to know:**

*Please include more than one audition song, just in case I was already planning to use the one you select. However, there is no guarantee that the song will be featured in the story, but the song you choose will give me a better understanding of what kind of voice this character may have or what genre they enjoy singing.

Also, feel free to submit more than one character! I honestly don't know how many characters I'll get, so I don't know if I will get enough to establish an entirely OC club. Regardless, if everything goes well, I would like to use every single character submitted in the story in some way, even if they are not in Vocal Adrenaline.

Thank you!


	2. A New Beginning

_**So here is the first official chapter of Adrenaline Rush! Just a heads up, it's pretty short and it only introduces one of the original characters that was submitted, and I am never satisfied with the first chapter of anything I do, so...yeah. **_

_**Thankfully, I had a lot of people sending me in OCs through reviews and PMs, but it makes the decision really difficult. **_

_**I decided on having fourteen members in Vocal Adrenaline, because too many characters would be hard to follow, but all of the characters submitted so far have been great! Thank you!**_

_**I'm leaving the submission form up just in case anyone wants to submit other characters for me to consider, and I'll have a final decision in at least two chapters as I would like to introduce them all in some way by then.**_

_**As for this chapter, the song featured is Collide by Howie Day. In case you don't know that song, here's a link: /watch?v=ca9ub9rpNK4&ob=av2e**_

_**Just copy and paste that at the end of Youtube's address because I can't give you a full link.**_

_**Without any further discussion, read and review the first chapter!**_

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_**-Disclaimer, I don't own Glee-**_

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**_A New Beginning_**

**May 2012**

It is no secret that the principal of Carmel High School is not a nice woman. Principal Maya Prowers demands the best out of every aspect of her school. Academics, athletics, extracurricular activities – if it wasn't award-winning, it wasn't necessary.

So when Vocal Adrenaline director Jesse St. James - or Mr. J, as his students would call him - led the award-winning Glee club to yet another loss, Ms. Prowers made it clear that a change had to be made.

Mr. J sat nervously in the principal's office, waiting for the dark-skinned woman to begin her lecture. What would be the result? Less funding? Firing? Mr. J wouldn't have been surprised if the day ended with Chinese water torture. When Jesse St. James was intimidated, something was wrong.

"Mister St. James…" she began. "Do you remember Dustin Goolsby?"

"Of course," he replied, already nervous with where this was headed. The former coach of Vocal Adrenaline was fired immediately after his loss at Nationals. Legend has it he went out screaming, injuring four people before finally being escorted out of the halls.

Mr. J decided he had to fight back. "Our loss was a fluke," he said before Prowers could say another word. "Nationals this year was incredibly flawed as opposed to previous years. The judges weren't even professionals!"

"Carmel High School has a reputation of being number one," she said, unfazed by his excuses. "If you can't earn that Nationals title, I have a line of people waiting for the job to open up and prove that they can."

"But I can!" Mr. J sat up in his seat. "I know I can. We came so close last time. I know it's possible." He sat back and sighed. "Just one more chance?"

The principal paused for a moment, considering the request. Finally, she made a decision. "Vocal Adrenaline has been on the decline for the past few years. Unless you bring home a first place Nationals trophy, I will be convinced that it will never return to its former glory. You have one more chance. If you blow it, Vocal Adrenaline is done."

Mr. J jumped up and smiled brightly. "I won't – I mean, _they_ won't disappoint."

When first presented, the challenge seemed manageable, but barely days after that decision, even more complications arose.

It started when Mr. J realized just how many seniors had been in Vocal Adrenaline. Out of thirty members, fourteen girls and twelve guys were graduating.

Furthermore, MVP of Nationals and superstar of Vocal Adrenaline 2011-2012 Wade Adams, popularly known as Unique, expressed his disapproval with Jesse's rehearsal methods, walking out of the end of the year Vocal Adrenaline rehearsal with a proud promise to transfer to New Directions and take Vocal Adrenaline down, and as if sparked into some type of rebellion, the remaining members followed him out.

This left the number of members at zero. Zero people to undergo the rigorous Vocal Adrenaline summer boot camp in preparation for next year, zero people to go out and recruit – or blackmail – other talented people into joining, zero people to uphold Vocal Adrenaline's champion legacy. It was too late in the year, so auditions had to be pushed until August to ensure maximum audition rate. Jesse needed all the talent he could find, because Vocal Adrenaline was missing that. At least, that's what he thought. Unfortunately, the shallow side of Jesse St. James sometimes takes over, and he forgets to notice what's right in front of him.

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**August 2012**

Nicolas Casanova was never a big name in Vocal Adrenaline. It always seemed like he was just another voice. Just another piece in the machine that was Carmel High School's championship show choir. Nick had wondered why Mr. J hadn't contacted him for the annual summer Vocal Adrenaline boot camp over break, but he wasn't surprised. Mr. J had probably forgotten all about him, but seeing as he was the only returning member of Vocal Adrenaline, it hurt to know that the coach hadn't even remembered him in Vocal Adrenaline's time of crisis.

Nick walked down the aisles of Corcoran Auditorium, the lavish concert hall named after former Vocal Adrenaline coach Shelby Corcoran. It was a truly beautiful room, decorated with velvet stage curtains and matching velvet seats in the audience. Several chandeliers placed throughout the hall provided the modest yet practical lighting. It was like something out of a Shakespeare play, and Nick applauded the architect who thought it up.

An extravagant black grand piano sat on the stage, and Nick made his way up the stairs toward the instrument. It was the first day of school, and there was still no sign of Vocal Adrenaline happening, so Nick figured it would be appropriate to perform one last time on that stage, for old time's sake.

He set his backpack beside the piano, sat down at the bench, and positioned his fingers over the keys while pondering what to play. After a few moments, he began.

The song was simple, but the introductory chords and rhythms were not. Not that the original artist had made them complex, but Nick liked it better when piano transpositions were more complicated than their counterparts.

_The dawn is breaking, a light shining through._

_You're barely waking, and I'm tangled up in you, yeah…_

From the corner of his eye, Nick noticed the auditorium doors opening. A quick glance revealed to him that a certain Jesse St. James was now in his presence. Perhaps Vocal Adrenaline was not over after all. This was his chance to show Mr. J his talent.

_Well, I'm open, you're closed._

_Where I follow, you'll go._

_I worry I won't see your face light up again._

Nick transitioned into the chorus, and the piano part became more intricate and rhythmical.

_Even the best fall down sometimes._

_Even the wrong words seem to rhyme._

_Out of the doubt that fills my mind,_

_I somehow find you and I collide._

The piece slowed down suddenly as it entered the bridge. In the upper octaves of the piano, Nick played a simple, repeating melody as he sang.

_Don't stop here..._

_I've lost my place..._

_I'm close behind._

The music picked up again to its previous complexity, demonstrating Nick's talent on piano while his vocals took a break. Finally, the song began to draw to a close. The music quieted down, and Nick finished with the repeated chorus.

_Even the best fall down sometimes._

_Even the wrong words seem to rhyme._

_Out of the doubt that fills your mind,_

_You finally find you and I collide._

Nick ended the song with a major chord in the upper octave, which was immediately followed by a lone person clapping in the audience.

"You have talent," Mr. J said, walking down the center aisle and stopping just in front of the stage, "and that's coming from me. Have you ever considered auditioning for Vocal Adrenaline?"

And that was it. Nick was certain: Mr. J had absolutely no idea who he was. "Seriously? You don't remember me?"

Mr. J tilted his head in confusion.

"I'm Nick. Nick Casanova? I was in Vocal Adrenaline _last _year!"

Mr. J's eyes grew wide in horror. "I could have sworn every underclassman from last year had deserted Carmel and transferred to McKinley."

"Well, you thought wrong. Thanks for remembering me, and good luck with Vocal Adrenaline this year." Nick was visibly annoyed as he grabbed his backpack from the stage and made his way stage right through the side exit.

"Wait!" Mr. J implored. Nick stopped and turned to listen. "I'm sorry I forgot you existed, but as the only veteran, you're probably one of the few hopes this show choir has of being successful."

Vocal Adrenaline depended on Nick? That's a first, and Nick smiled at the thought of it.

"What do you want me to do?" he asked.

Mr. J smiled. "Well, we can't have a one-man show choir, can we? Auditions start tomorrow, so I'm going to need you to go out and recruit some talented people, however you can. I don't care if you drag them in, Vocal Adrenaline needs performers."

So the club wasn't dead after all. Nick looked ecstatic. "No problem, sir!" He made his way down the front steps of the stage. "You know, for a while, I thought Nationals last year was the end of Vocal Adrenaline," he said as he passed Mr. J.

"Of course it isn't, I don't give up that easily."

Nick laughed. "Good. So this isn't the end. It's kind of actually the beginning." Nick continued out the exit, leaving Mr. J behind.

"Yeah," he said to himself. "A new beginning." He paused in horror. "Oh God, I sound like Schuester."

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_**So yeah, I decided on calling Jesse 'Mr. J' because it's weird for the students to be calling their teachers by their first names, and Mr. St. James was so weird to write out.**_

_**What did you think? Review with your thoughts! Criticism is what helps me to improve (and update faster *hint hint*).**_

_**This chapter featured Nick Casanova, created by G6-Flying. **__**Expect more original characters next chapter!**_

_**Thank you, and good night!**_


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